The opposition BJP took out rallies in the city and the state on Tuesday in support the bandh it has called Wednesday, while the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) brought out processions denouncing it.
The BJP has called a 12-hour shutdown on September 26 to protest the killing of two students in a clash with police at Islampur in North Dinajpur district on last Thursday.
"The people are fed up with this government. They will participate in this strike peacefully. But if the TMC and its goons try to foil the strike, there will be repercussions," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.
If the opposition parties call a bandh, the state government goes all out to foil a strike, he said and wondered if Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee forgot how many strikes her party had called in West Bengal since 1998, the year the TMC was formed.
"The state government is trying to hush up the Islampur incident. But we won't stop until and unless justice is delivered," Ghosh said.
Both the BJP and the TMC took out rallies in various parts of the state in support and against the strike call respectively.
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The TMC leaders alleged that the BJP sought to stop the developmental work in the state.
"The BJP is trying to foment trouble in the state. The state government will take all the steps to ensure that normal life is not disturbed. The police will take stern action if anyone tries to enforce the strike," TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said.
State-run buses will be on the road, he said urging commercial establishments and private educational institutes to function normally Wednesday.
The opposition Congress and the CPI(M) have opposed the killing of two youths in Islampur but did not support the strike call accusing both the TMC and the BJP of trying to create communal polarisation in the state over the incident.
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